The Case for (Jim) "Kitty" Kaat

Kaat signed with the Washington Senators as an 18-year-old in 1957. He made his big league debut late in the 1959 season as a 20-year-old. His first full season in the big leagues was 1961, when the Senators moved north and west to Minnesota and became the Twins.

He pitched for the Twins until the 1972 season when the Twins brass thought he was done. In his time as a Minnesota Twins pitcher, he was one of the most respected pitchers in baseball. He struggled in his two brief stints with the Senators, but if you count those numbers into his Minnesota Twins numbers, he went 190-159 with a 3.34 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. That accounts for an adjusted-ERA+ of 110, which is 10% better than average. He gave up just 0.8 HR/9. He walked just 2.1 per nine. His 5.6 K/9 rate sounds miniscule in today’s world, but at the time, it was above average. Remember, players in his era were embarrassed to strike out. He represented the Twins in two All-Star Games.

“Kitty” was a big part of the 1965 World Series team. In that Series, he started three games, all three against Sandy Koufax. He did win game two of that series, but as we know, Koufax became legendary in that Series.

He was named the 1966 American League Pitcher of the Year by The Sporting News. He went 25-13 with a 2.75 ERA and a 1.97 WHIP. The Cy Young Award was started in 1956, but the first time there were separate awards for each league was 1967. Names like Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale and Whitey Ford won MLB Cy Youngs before 1967.

After being traded to the White Sox later in the 1973 season, he spent two more years there. He pitched great in 1975 and earned his third trip to the All-Star Game. He spent 1976 through 1979 with the Phillies. He was traded to the Yankees in 1979 and also pitched for them to start the 1980 season. 1979 was the first season in which he primarily pitched out of the bullpen. He was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals as a 40-year-old in 1980. He stayed with the Cardinals until he was released in July, 1983.

His first World Series was with the Twins in 1965. His second World Series was in 1982, and this time he earned the ring. He pitched in four games for the Cardinals in the Series.

Kaat was known for his defense. He won 16 Gold Gloves, which was a record until Greg Maddux won 18 of them in his Hall of Fame career. Kaat won the award each year from 1962 through 1973, and then 1974 through 1977.

In his 25 years as a big leaguer, Kaat went 283-237 with a 3.45 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. He had an adjusted ERA+ of 108. He became more crafty as he aged, and his career strikeout rate was just 4.9 per nine. From 1961 through 1976 (16 seasons), he went over 200 innings 14 times and over 300 innings twice. He was on his way to 200+ innings again in 1972. He was 10-2 with a 2.06 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP in 15 starts and 113.1 innings. Unfortunately, he had major elbow pain and didn’t pitch the rest of the season. Later, he would find out that the injury and pain he had at the time would now require Tommy John surgery. He didn’t have any surgery, but he did change several things to allow him to pitch, and he pitched for another decade.

After retirement, he did join former teammate Pete Rose’s Cincinnati Reds coaching staff. Rose was so impressed by Kaat’s knowledge of pitching that he said if he was ever manager and Kaat was interested, he could be his pitching coach. He did have one twenty-game winner in his full season as pitching coach.

However, Kaat has stayed in the game since then as an analyst of the game, and frankly, one of the best. He was a full time analyst somewhere from 1986 through 2006 when he allegedly retired. He was the Twins color analyst from 1988 through 1993. However, after some time off, he has called games in the World Baseball Classic, done work for MLB Network and more since then. In his time, he won seven NY Emmy’s for on-air sports coverage.

We all know that “wins” are not a great indicator of great pitching. However, 283 wins means that he was very, very good for a very long time. He is one of just 29 men who played in four decades. There are 30 pitchers in baseball history with more wins than Kaat. Just five of them are not in the Hall of Fame. Bobby Matthews won 297 games between 1871 and 1888. Tony Mullane won 284 games between 1881 and 1894. Tommy John won 288 games between 1963 and 1989. Randy Johnson should get into the Hall of Fame this year on his first ballot, and Roger Clemens who should be in the Hall of Fame.

In his 15 years on the ballot, Kaat never received more than 29.7% of the vote by the writers.

In his excellent autobiography, Still Pitching, Kaat actually acknowledges that his was probably not a Hall of Fame career and he outlines some of the reasons. However, the Hall of Fame is also about character and integrity. There is also room for players who are great ambassadors of the game. Jim Kaat is certainly that.

I once heard Kaat give a speech, probably four or five years ago. First, it was excellent. He told story after story after story of his days with the Twins. He had the crowd laughing and crying, and nodding their heads with memories. He spoke for 45 minutes, and not once did he use his notes. He has given to many charities and been a spokesman for baseball. He has represented the game very well for over 55 years now. When you combine his excellent playing career with his post-career baseball history, a strong case should be made in support of Kaat’s Hall of Fame candidacy.

The Veteran’s Committee will be voting one week from today, December 8. Will Tony Oliva or Jim Kaat get the opportunity to call themselves Hall of Famers? I guess we’ll find out then.

His long career speaks to the changes in the game. When he first came up, pitchers hit and starters threw 250 to 300 innings. By the time he retired, the DH era had begun and bullpens became much more important.

It’s never a bad thing to take a look back at the great history of baseball and of the Minnesota Twins. Kaat is arguably (though there’s little question in my mind) the best pitcher in Twins history. It’s fun to look back, and for those of us who didn’t see him pitch, a reminder of how good he was.

If you want to send a last-minute letter of support for Jim Kaat, you can do so by mailing a letter to the Veteran’s Committee at: